Lackluster tribute to Paul McCartney

Various artists
“The Art of McCartney”
(Arctic Poppy)

This two-disc Paul McCartney tribute is a decade-in-the-making labor of love by one man, producer Ralph Sall. So it would be churlish to throw cold water on it, right?

Sorry. Sall’s interest in chasing down marquee names, rather than marquee performances, makes this a gigantic missed opportunity.

Sall enlists McCartney’s current backup band to fill the same role on this 34-song effort (42 with the deluxe package). The result is musical consistency -- consistently generic. He recruits primarily legacy artists whose best work is behind them, often decades behind. Billy Joel opens both discs with songs (“Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Live and Let Die”) that are beyond his range now. And, trust us, the world doesn’t need to hear Steve Miller sing “Hey Jude” or Alice Cooper do “Eleanor Rigby.”

To be sure, there are fun moments, like Bob Dylan croaking through “Things We Said Today” and Brian Wilson’s shimmering take on “Wanderlust.” The compositions are excellent, even if the performances don’t always rise to that level. But you knew that going in.

Bringing in some current and more diverse artists -- maybe a Katy Perry or Pharrell -- and letting them interpret the music freed from a band with its own preconceptions would have been infinitely more interesting. So would digging further into McCartney’s vast catalog, including some work he’s done this century.

While musical adventurousness is risky, the rewards are greater. McCartney’s legacy deserved a more challenging environment. (AP)


Turmoil helps AC/DC shine on new album

AC/DC
“Rock or Bust”
(Columbia Records)

In 1980, AC/DC’s very existence was at stake: singer Bon Scott died just as the band was starting to get big. They used the uncertainty and grief to dig down deep, and the result was one of the greatest albums in rock history, “Back In Black.”

In 2014, AC/DC is once again in turmoil: founding rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young had to leave the band due to dementia, and drummer Phil Rudd recently saw charges that he hired a hit man to kill someone dropped, but still faces serious legal matters. And once again, the band has come up big, with “Rock or Bust.”

The album is based on lead guitarist Angus Young’s butt-shaking, foot-stomping guitar riffs, elegant in their simplicity and their ability to burn themselves into your brain. The title track, and the first single, “Play Ball,” are perfect examples of this.

“Miss Adventure” adds a “nah nah nah” chant to a bouncy blues beat in the same way that chants benefited their previous hit “Thunderstruck.” And “Emission Control” is one of the all-time great song title double entendres.

But the happiest surprise here is the re-emergence of Brian Johnson’s voice. During the `90s and early 2000s, you could literally hear it crumble before your ears, seeming to get weaker with each new album. Whether it has re-energized during the time off since the band’s tour wrapped in 2010, or is just miked and processed better, it sounds strong and vibrant again -- an essential element of the classic AC/DC sound. (AP)


Take That returns as a trio on ‘III’

Take That
“III”
(Polydor)

What to make of Take That? The 1990s boy band was adored by a generation in its native Britain. When Take That returned in 2005 as a grown-up “man band,” fans embraced the group as if it had never been away.

”III” is the band’s sixth No. 1 studio album in the U.K., its title a reference to Take That’s new status as a trio, with the departure earlier this year of Jason Orange. The group earlier survived the loss of original member Robbie Williams, but how much attrition can its chemistry bear?

Well, a three-wheeled car is still a car, and Take That is like a luxury automobile -- a Jaguar, perhaps -- humming along with neither surprises nor disappointments.

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald still sound vocally at ease in each other’s company. The album’s opener and lead single, “These Days,” is a well-tooled construction of tight vocal harmonies and up-tempo electro-beats. It’s easy to imagine it filling dance floors, while “Get Ready” is an equally effective pop anthem.

The rest of the album, created with producers including Gary Kurstin and Stuart Price, is similarly polished, though musically unadventurous and lyrically bland.

“III” is at its most interesting when it swerves a bit, as with the grungy electro buzz of “I Like It” or the low-key, McCartneyesque charm of “Amazing” -- a word only true fans will apply to this album. (AP)